NMHP Forum - Reuniting Companions Introduction from Kat Albrecht

Reuniting Companions: Sometimes beloved animals can get lost and have a tough time finding their way back home. Pet detective Kat Albrecht will provide tips and advice on how to find lost pets and reunite animals with their families.

Related transcripts from previous forum weeks can be viewed by visiting the forum archives at http://www.bestfriends.com/nomorehomelesspets/weeklyforum/forumarchives.cfm.

Kat has also authored:
Finding a Lost Cat, available at
http://www.bestfriends.com/nomorehomelesspets/weeklyforum/060605lostcat.pdf

Finding a Lost Dog, available at
http://www.bestfriends.com/nomorehomelesspets/weeklyforum/060605lostdog.pdf

Introduction from Kat Albrecht:

Bunky, a skittish indoor-only cat, pushed out a window screen and
escaped outside. Bunky's owner posted hundreds of flyers, checked the
local shelter every day for three weeks, placed ads in the local
classified sections, talked to all of their neighbors (and asked them
to call if they saw Bunky), and even hired an animal communicator.
Tragically, Bunky was never recovered by his family because the
methods they used are not the primary methods that should be used to
recover a missing cat like Bunky! Sadly, Bunky could have been
recovered if his family had known that a baited humane trap could be
used to recover a displaced, panicked cat.

Why would humane traps be better than posting a hundred LOST CAT
flyers? Because displaced, panicked cats like Bunky will almost
always look for the first place that will offer concealment and
protection and they will remain silent. The instinctive response of
any panicked, injured, or sick cat is to HIDE IN SILENCE - a behavior
called "The Silence Factor" that kills thousands of cats every year.
No amount of posting flyers would help find Bunky because no one in
the neighborhood would ever see him! That's because Bunky would be
concealed and would only dart out of his hiding place to grab food
and water. If neighbors ever caught a glimpse of Bunky, they would
likely assume, based on his xenophobic behavior, that he was an
untamed, feral cat.

This week, we'll talk about the differences between the proper
methods of searching for a lost dog vs. a lost outdoor-access cat vs.
a displaced indoor-only cat that has escaped outdoors. We will
discuss the emerging field of lost pet services known as "Missing
Animal Response" (MAR) and how lost pet services can reduce the
homeless pet population. We will take a "macro-view" of the lost pet
problem as I show you a comparative analysis between how we search
for lost people vs. how we fail to search for lost pets. Most
importantly, we will discuss the human and animal behaviors that
prevent lost dogs and cats from being reunited with their families.
What you learn during this week promises to be both enlightening as
well as disturbing.

Bio for Kat Albrecht:
Kathy "Kat" Albrecht is a former police-detective-turned-
investigative pet detective (www.katalbrecht.com).

Since 1997, Kat has solved lost pet investigations by using law
enforcement-based techniques and strategies that are normally used to
solve lost person investigations. She has located lost pets by
pioneering the training and use of cat detection dogs, scent tracking
dogs trained to track lost dogs, infrared cameras, amplified
listening-devices, and search cameras.

Kat pioneered the use of "search probability theory" and deductive
reasoning for missing cats and Feline Behavioral Profiling, a system
of predicting patterns of feline behavior similar to how FBI profiles
criminal behavior. She also discovered that behavior (both human and
animal) is a critical barrier to the recovery of lost pets and has
identified predictable patterns of behavior in lost pets such as "The
Silence Factor," "The Threshold Phenomenon," and "The Lost Pet
Triad."

Kat's memoir The Lost Pet Chronicles: Adventures of a K-9 Cop Turned
Pet Detective (Bloomsbury, April 2004) tells the inspirational story
of her struggle to make the risky and unusual career change from
police detective to pet detective.

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Posted on SHARE Yahoo group June 7, 2005